Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Research Coverage Started at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $38.00 price objective on the closed-end fund’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BEN. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Franklin Resources from $31.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Barclays upped their price target on Franklin Resources from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $35.00 price target on shares of Franklin Resources in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $34.00 price objective on shares of Franklin Resources in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Franklin Resources from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, June 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Franklin Resources has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.00.

Franklin Resources Price Performance

Shares of BEN opened at $33.69 on Wednesday. Franklin Resources has a fifty-two week low of $21.10 and a fifty-two week high of $36.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $33.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.44. The company has a market cap of $17.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.92, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The closed-end fund reported $0.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.76 billion. Franklin Resources had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 11.55%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.49 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Franklin Resources will post 2.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Franklin Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Franklin Resources’s payout ratio is presently 89.80%.

Institutional Trading of Franklin Resources

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Franklin Resources by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 148,049 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $2,850,000 after acquiring an additional 30,763 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Franklin Resources by 169.3% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,909 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock worth $152,000 after purchasing an additional 4,972 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in Franklin Resources by 41.1% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,189 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 7,634 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in Franklin Resources in the second quarter valued at approximately $169,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in Franklin Resources by 52.2% in the second quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 509,171 shares of the closed-end fund’s stock valued at $12,144,000 after purchasing an additional 174,579 shares during the last quarter. 47.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Franklin Resources

Franklin Resources, Inc, operating under the Franklin Templeton name, is a global investment management organization. The company provides investment solutions for individual investors, financial professionals, institutions and retirement plans through a broad range of strategies and investment vehicles.

Its offerings include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, separately managed accounts, institutional mandates and alternative investments. Franklin Templeton manages strategies across equities, fixed income, multi-asset portfolios, alternatives and other specialized areas, while also providing investment research, portfolio management and wealth-management services.

Founded in 1947 by Rupert H.